Strait area municipalities hope to land offshore wind centre for Nova Scotia

Richmond County and the Town of Port Hawkesbury are looking for a consultant to examine the business case for establishing the proposed Nova Scotia Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence in the Strait of Canso area.

Warden Amanda Mombourquette said Richmond County is taking the lead on the idea, which came out of a regional business discussion from a couple of years ago.

"We really felt that Nova Scotia, number one, has a lot to offer [and] the Strait area is ideally placed to lead the development of such a centre," Mombourquette said.

"Why we felt there was a need for it in general, when you think about it outside of our regional interest, is really to ensure that the industry that develops here in Nova Scotia has as much local benefit and as much local content ... as possible."

The U.S. and several countries in Europe, where offshore energy is already an established industry, already have such centres.

Mombourquette said the proposed Nova Scotia centre, like those ones, could have multiple offices around the province and could be modelled on existing research centres such as the COVE marine centre in Dartmouth or the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy in Parrsboro.

The centre would support research and development of offshore wind energy with a focus on growth of the industry locally.

Mombourquette also said officials are hopeful that offshore wind turbines will eventually be located in the Strait area.

"We feel strongly that there is a case to be made for offshore wind to be placed in the offshore area under the joint-managed waters that are close to our deepwater port," Mombourquette said.

"The Strait of Canso has a deepwater port like none other on the eastern seaboard, so we see a lot of potential for that."

Nova Scotia has set a target of establishing seabed leases to generate five gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. 

Regulations around where turbines could go and how they could work are still being worked out with the federal government.

Richmond County's request for proposals says the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Renewables is considering the establishment of a centre.

A department spokesperson referred questions on the need for a provincial offshore wind centre of excellence to the Strait area municipalities.

Province happy to support project

In an email, Patricia Jreige said the idea came from Strait area officials and is based on existing centres in Europe, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

"The purpose of the tender is to assess whether it's a good idea to establish one here to support our offshore wind sector and help Nova Scotians reap the benefits," she said.

"We're happy to support that exploration work."

Jreige did not say whether the province would support the idea financially.

Consultant expected to be hired in February

The proposed facility would have a provincial scope, but would not necessarily be a provincial responsibility, Mombourquette said.

The provincial and federal governments are in talks about possible funding, though, she said.

The Richmond County request for proposals closes Jan. 23 and is expected to be awarded Feb. 9, 2024. 

Mombourquette said she has heard concerns from people in the local fishing industry and she has concerns of her own.

But offshore wind energy could have far-reaching implications, she said.

Meanwhile, a proposed offshore wind turbine marshalling area is still being worked on in Sydney harbour.

Novaporte has been marketing a piece of land on behalf of Cape Breton Regional Municipality and earlier this year, the company signed a deal with a Danish firm to get into the offshore turbine assembly business.

Novaporte vice-president Kathleen Yurchesyn said the company is not part of the Strait area's plans for a centre of excellence, but she said it would be an exciting and welcome facility for Cape Breton.

"Nova Scotia has an historically significant opportunity to build an industry in this country that has significant ... generational environmental benefits [and] enormous economic benefits as well," she said.

"I think Nova Scotia and even more particularly Cape Breton can be a leader in this space for North America."